The Front-Yard Farmer

Snap beans are not all created equal

Try flavor sweet bush beans

Last fall I did not include snap beans in my vegetable garden. I have always enjoyed the bush beans we grow, but not enough to sacrifice precious garden space for them among my other fall crops.

But after trying a different variety of snap beans this past spring, I have already prepared two front-yard beds for a fall crop, which I will begin planting this month.

Bush beans, which don’t grow tall, need no support, and produce dainty white or purple flowers, are especially well suited to grow in front-yard beds.

The aptly named “Flavor Sweet” bush beans by Gurney’s were a real favorite on our dinner table this past spring. The delicious, sweet flavor of these thin, straight, tender, filet-type beans is unmatched by any I have ever grown or eaten.

Just as these beans are richer in flavor, they also are richer in color. They are a much darker green than the typical light green-hued beans grown in southern gardens (though Flavor Sweet beans are actually considered to be medium green in color). These straight, thin, richly-colored beans make a better presentation on the plate -- and in the garden -- than your average homegrown beans.

While this variety of bush bean may not be the best choice for commercial farms in northwest Florida, it seems to perform quite well in the home garden for us front-yard farmers.

Growing bush beans is fairly simple. I space plants six inches apart in rows about 24 inches apart. I dust plants when I see pests. I fertilize a couple of times early, before the plants bloom. Grown in this manner, I harvested about a pound of Flavor Sweet beans for every row foot planted.
I usually make two pickings per row of bush beans, separated by about a week. The best quality beans come from the first picking. Beans harvested after the second picking are smaller and do not grow as uniform and straight. Flavor Sweet beans take about 55 days to mature.

To extend the season and have a ready supply of fresh snap beans, I plant a row or two every two weeks. I will begin planting my fall crop in mid-August, and make the last of four total plantings around the first of October. The best quality beans and highest yields will be produced when the weather is neither too hot nor too cold.

For a complete list of vegetable planting dates for north Florida and recommended varieties of vegetables for the home garden, see our Vegetable Planting Guide.

Front-Yard Farmer Dennis Gilson grows a great variety of fruits and vegetables at his home in Niceville, Fla.